Interrupter.



I. B. DYER.

INTERRUPTER.

APPLICATION mu) MAY14,19I5.

1,172,015. Patented Feb. 15,1910.

(\j 1 Q R} WITNESSES 1 @QWOZQM W Y g g 2 ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. DYEB, OF BACINE, WISCONSIN, AS S I GNOB T0 WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

INTEBBUPTEB.

Application flied Kay 14, 1915. Serial No. 28,124.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. DYER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Interrupters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to interrupters for use in connection with ignition systems for internal combustion engines, and it has for its object to provide a device which is noiseless in operation to control the production of sparks in systems of the above described character.

In the operation of mechanisms of the general character hereinafter set forth, it is necessary to employ rapidly rotating and rapidly vibrating parts which coact to control the instant at which sparks occur in the several cylinders of internal combustion engines. It has been a more or less diflicult matter to reduce the noise incident to such operation because of the impact of the vibrating members as they engage their corresponding stationary stops or the engagement of two vibrating members having different periods of oscillation.

According to the present invention, I provide a stationary stop member having a convexly curved surface upon which a spring, which supports the movable contact member, is adapted to roll or bend when the contact members are separated. This arrangement tends to effect a gradual engagement of the spring with its stop and thereby prevent the noise incident to the engagement of two fiat surfaces, one of which is moving at a high rate of speed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side and sectional view of a combined spark advancer and interrupter constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an end and sectional view of the mechanism of Fig 1.

My invention is adapted to be employed in connection with the magneto or generator, or it may be connected directly to the engine. The mechanism ,is mounted upon a shaft 1 which may be a part of any of said machines. The device comprises an automatic spark advancer 2 which constitutes the rotatable part of the interrupter and a stationary circuit-cmtrolling mechanism 3 that coacts with the spark advancer.

The rotatable part 2, which is mounted Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

on a reduced portion of the shaft 1, comprises two pins or posts 4 and 5 that are screwed into holes in the end of the shaft 1 at opposite sides of its axis and arallel thereto. The pins serve as pivots or two centrifugally actuated levers 6 and 7 of substantially semi-cylindrical outer contour and having central shallow channels in their circumferential faces which form ribs adjacent to their edges. The abuttin faces 8 and 9 of the ends of levers 6 an 7 are radial for approximately one-fourth of the diameters of their cylindrical portions. The remaining or inner portions of the abutting faces are of irregular contour, being severally shaped to provide laterally extending arms 10 and 1.1 and recesses 12 and 13 for the reception of the opposing arms.

The engaging faces of the arms and recesses are of'such shape that the levers are caused to move simultaneously and correspondingly under the action of centrifugal force. Thus, movement of the lever 6 upon its pivot 4 causes the arm 10 to press against the face of the recess in the lever 7 to effect a corresponding movement of the said lever. Movement of the lever 7 upon its pivot 5 causes the arm 11 to press against the face of the recess in the lever 6 to effect a corresponding movement of the said lever.

Diametrically opposite ends of the levers 6 and 7 are slotted for the reception of rollers 14 that protrude from the slots slightly beyond the cylindrical faces of the levers, the said rollers being mounted upon pins 15 that extend through the levers and project from the outer faces thereof. The other ends of the levers 6 and 7 are solid and c0nstitute weights upon which centrifugal forces act to move the levers. The dispo sition of the rollers with respect to the fulcrum points of the levers is such that they are moved angularly forward and radially outward as the weighted ends of the levers are moved outwardly by centrifugal force. In this connection, it will be noted that the cylindrical faces of the levers 4 and 5 are not concentric with the axis about which they revolve, thus permitting movements of the levers within the limited space allowed.

The levers 6 and 7 are normally maintained in the positions shown by means of springs 16 that are supported by arms 17 carried by a block 18 that is mounted upon the outer ends of the pins or posts 4 and 5.

I the case may be.

The block 18 is secured upon the pins by means of a cotter pin 21. The free ends of the springs 16 bear against the inner faces of the projecting ends of thebe'aring pins 15, thereby serving to resiliently oppose movements of the levers 6 and 7 by centrifugal action. v

The stationary parts of the device are carried by a base or bracket 22 that is suitably secured to the frame or other stationary part of the magneto, generator or engine, as The base 22 is provided with a cylindrical sleeve portion 23 surrounding the levers 6 and 7, the lower portion of the sleeve being omitted or cut away for a distance ofapproximately 90. The sleeve 23 serves as a bearing for another sleeve 24 that closely fits the same and the lower portion of which is also omitted or cut away. The sleeve 24 constitutes a part ofyand a support for, a shell or frame 25 having lugs 26 for the attachment of means whereby the same may be rotated manually by the driver or operator.

A lever 27 is mounted within the frame 25 and is provided, at one end, with ablock 28, of fiber or other suitable material, which projects through the cut-away portions of the sleeves 23 and 24 into the path of the rollers 14. The face 29 of the block 28, that is adapted to be engaged by the rollers, has a curvature that is slightly eccentric to the circular path of rotation of the rollers 14.

The lever 27 is provided, at an intermediate portion, with an integral curved portion 30 which has a bearing in a depression 31 in a member 32 and which forms a fulcrum for the lever 27. The member 32, which is supported by, and insulated from, the frame 25, is provided with an arm 33 having a bent portion 34. A coil spring 35 bears at one end against the bent portion 34 and, at the other end, upon the rear end of the lever 27. The lever 27, which may be pressed from light sheet metal, is turned down at the edges to form a rigid, channellike member.

A blade spring 36, that is weaker than the spring 35, is attached, at one end, to the member 32. At the other end, the spring 36 bears a contact member 37 which coacts with a stationary contact member 38. The lever 27 is provided with bent arms or hooks 39 which engage the spring 36, upon its lower side, to form a lost-motion connection between these parts.

The spring 36, when not engaged by the hooks 39, is adapted to press the contact member 37 against the contact member 38. When the contact members are separated by I the spring 35, the spring 36 is held in engagement with a stationary stop member 40 having a convexlv curved surface adjacent the spring 36. The contact member 37 is electrically connected, through the spring 36 and the member 32, to a binding post 41 that is insulated from the shell or frame 25. The contact member 38 is connected, through a conductor 42, to a similar binding post 41.

In the operation of the device, the weighted ends of the levers 6 and 7 are moved outwardly, by centrifugal force, against the axes of the springs 16 in proportion to the speed at which they are revolved, the rollers 14 being thus moved around the pins 4 and 5, respectively, as centers. The relation of the parts is such that, as the arms 4 and 5 are actuated by centrifugal force, the rollers 14 are advanced from the initial or normal positions in the direction of revolution. The rollers are this caused to engage the eccentrically curved surfaces 29 of the block 28 sooner with respect to the corresponding positions of the engine pistons and the higher engine speeds than for the lower. The re-.,

eccentrically curved, the rollers 14 will not only engage the face sooner at the higher speeds but will also engage it during greater portions of their angular movements. This arrangement insures that, as the speed of the engine increases, the angular distance of engagement between the rollers and the lever are correspondingly increased, thereby maintaining the periods of engagement of the contact members of the interrupter substantially uniform with changes of speed. The relatively rapid movement of the rollers 14 permits the block 28 and the lever 27 to move freely upwardly under the force of the spring 35 at various engine speeds, and the separation of the contact members takes place with uniform motion. Because of the convexly curved surface of the stop member 40, the spring 36 is caused to roll upon it and thus conform to its surface gradually as the lever 27 moves upwardly. The gradual engagement of these parts causes the interrupter to operate substantially without noise.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an interrupter, the combination with a pair of relatively movable contactmembers, and a resilient member for carrying one of said contact members, of a curved member adjacent the resilient member, and means for causing said resilient member to conform to the surface of the curved member in one position of said contact members.

2; In an interrupter, the combination with a pair of relatively movable contact members, and a resilient member for carrying one of said contact members, of means for separating said contact members; and a stationary member having a convexly curved surface for limiting the movement of said resilient member in one direction.

3. In an interru ter, the combination with a pair of relative y movable contact members, and a resilient member for carrying one of said contact members, of a stop member having a convexly curved surface, and means for causing the resilient member to engage said curved surface.

4. In an interrupter, the combination with a pair Of relatively movable contact members, a resilient member for carrying one of said contact members, and a stationary member having a curved surface adjacent said resilient member, of means for separating said contact members and thereby causing said resilient member to gradually conform to said curved surface.

5. In an interrupter, the combination of a pair of relatively movable contact members, a resilient member for carrying one of said contact members, and a stationary member having a curved surface adjacent said resilient member, of means having a lost-motion connection to said resilient member for separating said contact members and thereby causing said resilient member to gradually conform to said curved surface.

6. In an interru ter, the combination with a pair of relative y movable contact members, and a resilient member operatively connected to one of said contact members, of a curved member coacting'with said resilient member to limit the movement of the resilient member in one direction.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 30th day of April,

JOHN B. DYER. Witnesses:

EDGAR S. CRAIG, EDGAR Jams. 

